#84 - Earn a Scholarship for Tuition

With the tuition at the University of San Diego (USD), I'm hoping I can do #84 a few more times, but I'm thankful for the first!

I was offered (and accepted) a USD School of Leadership and Education Sciences (SOLES) scholarship for summer 2013.  It just about covered my tuition... for 1 summer class.  But hey, it's a start!  And it's money I don't have to pay back!

#86 - Apply for NIRSA Involvement

I am pretty sure when I wrote this goal I had some idea of applying for office or the NIRSA Assembly, but since what I ended up with entails weekly conference calls, so I am counting it.

NIRSA is (newly renamed) Leaders in Collegiate Recreation, a professional organization for Campus Recreation students and professionals.  I have been involved since 2006, when DePaul Campus Recreation so generously took me along with them even before I was a Campus Recreation professional and before I started school at DePaul.

As quickly as I can tell it, I decided I wanted to be a Campus Recreation professional in 2006 after failing at finding a PE teaching job in Michigan, moving to Chicago, and disliking the recreation jobs I found.  I contacted one of the professional, Gerald Ashley, at the University of Michigan, where I attended undergrad.  He told me to contact the director, Bill Canning.  Bill put me in contact with Gale Stewart, who told me I needed to get my master's.  She also, however, put me in contact with Jen (then) Doughney (now) O'Keefe and Dana McPherson.  They gave me a couple part-time positions as a CPR instructor and a private swim lesson instructor, both of which I continued to work well after I started full-time work.  Jen then encouraged me to go to the annual NIRSA conference, that year in Louisville.  She arranged it so that if I could get there (paying the $600 some for attendance and driving down), she would make sure I had a spot in their room.  More than that, Jen introduced me around and found me as many free meals (even paying for one herself) as possible.  I am in incredible debt to DePaul Campus Recreation, and that's not even counting Moe McGonagle's help as my professional adviser and her continued mentorship.  Lucky for me, "paying a debt" in NIRSA generally means "paying it forward," something I now feel not obligated but energized to do.

I have now attended 8 NIRSA annual conferences and many state conferences, Lead Ons (student-led regional conferences), and extramural tournaments.  I love NIRSA.

I did do a stint on the NIRSA Sports Officials Development Program Soccer Committee.  I put in 3 years but I didn't feel like I actually contributed nor do I feel like it strengthened my connections with other professionals.  Well, maybe with the exception of Nicole Green, but she's a friend from undergrad and one of my favorite people in the world, so maybe our professional connection got a little stronger but I have a feeling we'll always be in each others' corners anyways.

T
his year I was determined to find a place to really serve NIRSA.  At the Region VI (west coast) Lead On in the fall, I connected with Chad Ellsworth, the Director of Campus Recreation at the Arizona State Downtown campus and our Region VI director.  He quickly folded me in and got me onto the Region VI Conference Planning Committee.

Five of us convene weekly over the phone.  We mostly get work done but I do enjoy the banter in between the work.  My job, besides attending the conference call, is to connect with the Program and Registration committees to make sure everyone is on the same page and we are all meeting our deadlines so we can have a great conference up at UCLA in November.

This is the first time I've been so active so regularly in a professional organization.  I was very active in IIRSA (the Illinois state organization) and put in some pretty time-intensive weekends during tournaments, but this is satisfying in a different way.  I feel like I'm committed and I want to make sure our regional conference is more than worth the time and energy of the students and professionals who will attend.

Thank you, Chad, for the opportunity!

#73 - Submit a Proposal to Present at a Conference

I assumed this one would be a NIRSA (Leaders in Collegiate Recreation) conference or even something for the Depression on College Campuses conference.  I have attended NIRSA 8 times and DOCC 2 times.  But thanks to some wonderful encouragement and support from Dr. Christopher Newman, Grace Bagunu, and Kenyon Whitman, I submitted a proposal for a roundtable at ASHE (Association for the Study of Higher Education).

I submitted a proposal for a roundtable to discuss connections between mental health research and practice on campuses.  Here is the abstract: 

The purpose of this roundtable is to discuss connections between campus mental health research and practice.  Practitioners and researchers have examined mental illnesses in college communities and how they are affecting campuses.  The roundtable would discuss how practices are, or could be, supported by research and suggestions for future research.

I am so thankful to have professors and colleagues who inspire and challenge me.  In submitting to ASHE I submitted a my first proposal for both an academic conference as well as a national conference.  

Thank you to Kenyon for planting the ASHE seed in my head.  Thank you to Dr. Newman for sitting down with me to discuss ASHE -- more than once -- and insisting I submit to present... and then taking time for a follow up call to make sure I met the deadline.  Thank you to Grace Bagunu for being the main member of my professional/academic/writing growth group.  I am so thankful for our Sundays  dedicated to our professional and academic intentions.  Love you!

UPDATE:

I also submitted 3 presentations to the NIRSA Region VI conference and 3 to the NIRSA Annual Conference, one jointly with Nicole Green, and all were accepted!

NIRSA Annual Conference

• (accepted) “Developing a Learning Culture: Professional Practices for Social Sustainability,” Nashville, TN, April 2014
• accepted) “Fostering a Learning Culture with Your Student Staff,” Nashville, TN, April 2014
• (accepted) “What I Wish I Would Have Known When I Was a New Professional,” co-presenter, Nashville, TN, April 2014

NIRSA Region VI Student Lead On

• “Fostering a Learning Culture with Your Student Staff,” Los Angeles, CA, November 2013

NIRSA Region VI Conference

• “Review of the NIRSA Sustainability Model,” microsession, Los Angeles, CA, November 2013
• “Fostering an Office Learning Culture,” Los Angeles, CA, November 2013

#3 - Really Catch a Wave When Surfing

I definitely thought that the first thing I'd cross of my list this year would be not eating cheese for seven days. Turns out, I seriously cannot do it.

I realized on Monday I had not eaten cheese for two days without even trying, so I decided that I'd go Sunday to Sunday with no cheese.  I'd say the hardest part was not putting cheese on sandwiches.  I love cheese.  Then I went to the grocery store Monday afternoon and bought things to make quesadillas.  Damn. But I didn't make them.  The tortillas still sit empty on the shelf.  Then on Friday, I grabbed a burrito after beach volleyball practice.  There was no cheese on or in the burrito, but there was a bit melted on top of the beans, which I really wanted.  So I ate around the cheese.  Until I realized that I was just eating around the yellow cheese and totally eating the white cheese also sprinkled on.  And then I remembered that I had eaten a piece of pizza the night before when out celebrating a new San Diego friend's 30th birthday.  Then today, I was talking to Angela about my failed efforts.  Her phone dropped the call as her train went underground and when I got back to my desk, K Rob had left me a snack.  "K Rob, what are these?"  I yelled to the other room.  "Cheese puffs," he responded.  Eff.  Apparently I will not be healtifying my diet by giving up cheese.  Ever.  (The cheese puffs were delicious.)

So instead, my first list item completed was to actually catch a wave when surfing!  Last semester I bought a Groupon for the Ocean Beach Surf and Skate shop for a 3-hour surf lesson.

Quick history:  I once tried surfing in Lake Michigan in New Buffalo.  The waves were too small to do anything.  I then went surfing on my road trip with Nader in 2011.  Since moving to San Diego, I have gone for a few times with John and Dan but just really jumping over and getting beat up by waves while holding a short board.

Today, I took a lesson.  Travis and Timmy spent the first hour discussing center of gravity, staying in a low position, and having us practice our balance.  What a super helpful way to start even thinking about surfing.  Plus, I totally want an Indo Board now.

Then, we slowly peeled on our wetsuits and headed for the 60-degree ocean in 65-degree weather.  Lucky for me, wetsuits are awesome, and I have a pretty high cold-and-wet tolerance thanks to my 10 or whatever years of teaching swimming.  (Never in that cold, obviously.  The wetsuit did most of the work.)

It definitely took me a while.  Travis and Timmy helped us catch the waves at the right time.  It took me many tries but then I finally found my groove and was able to actually stand and ride a few waves, one all the way to the shore.  Such a cool feeling.  And then my arms and legs turned to slugs and I couldn't get more than a knee and one foot up.  It's cool though.  I'll be here a few more years to keep practicing!

Lesson learned:  Take a lesson.

#86 - Make a Real Whiskey Sour

I love whiskey.  I love it.

I hate that most the things it is commonly paired with at bars is sweet.  Jack & Coke = delicious but sweet.  Jameson & Ginger Ale = also delicious but sweet.

So a couple years ago, I had a friend who gave up soda for Lent.  But then he found a few loop holes and drank a little soda anyways.  I got mad, so I told him that I'd give up soda too, and I'd be more committed to Spite than he was to Catholicism.  Yeah, I'm a little mean.

But I won.

During that time though, I went to NYC.  I was seriously puzzled on what to drink.  So I picked up whiskey sours - even though most whiskey sours are really whiskey sweet & sours and so loaded with sugar it hurts a little.  But then, we went to this one bar in Brooklyn, and the bartender said, "Our whiskey sour is a real whiskey sour, made with, like, egg whites.  Are you cool with that?"  Hell yeah, I'm cool with that.  It was delicious.  Not too sweet.  Just whiskey & sour and delight.

Ever since, anytime I see a legit whiskey sour made with egg whites and a homemade mixture instead of pre-made, I get it.  West Coast Tavern in North Park in San Diego has a great one.

But then at home, I stick to Jack & Coke, Jame-o & ginger, or just whiskey & water or on the rocks.  Why couldn't I just learn to make a real whiskey sour?

Today I did...  With the help of my chef-tastic roommate Kevin.

I made simple syrup.  (Now I know why sour mix tastes so sweet.)

I chilled a martini glass.

I pulled an egg white and shook it in a shaker.

I added ice, rye whiskey, lemon juice, lime juice, and simple syrup.

I shook them up.

I served it with a garnish of lemon peel.

It wasn't perfect looking.  I probably shook it a bit too much, meranguing the egg white a bit too much, but it tasted just right.  Well, maybe a little strong.  But overall, lovely.  And easy.  As long as I have simple syrup pre-made, some lemons & limes, and some whiskey, this will be my drink of choice.  If not, we're back to whiskey on the rocks and weening myself to Scotch.

#46 - Volunteer for Another Race

So I was just reading through my list to figure out which one to do next when I realize I had already done this one but I didn't count it.  I guess it's just something I do now, which was exactly my intention.  Yay!

I volunteered for the Soldier Field 10 Mile May 26, 2012.  I really wanted to run the race but was short on funds so I volunteered instead.  I got there at 5:30 am, met some fellow volunteers, took some pictures of the field, and then headed out to my post.

My highlights of the day were...

Around 6:15am, hanging out alone at my post, I checked my facebook.  I saw I had a comment on a post from Chris Ogden.  I checked the comment.  It said, "Do your best Jagger."  I looked up, saw a few more volunteers a hundred or so yards away and then a giant line of cars waiting to park for the race. I then danced, alone, like a fool.

My post was to warn people of a grate on the path.  Lots of people faked like they tripped anyways to make me laugh.  I think I did every time.

Then I saw Zann and Holly.  Well, Zann saw me and yelled and waved for a good 30-45 seconds.

Somehow I missed Laura Masters.

It wasn't quite as inspiring as the marathon but it was still a bunch of fun.

My Goals and My Career

I’m not sure my students really realize how difficult it was for me to leave my job as the Aquatics Coordinator at Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU), a small, commuter Hispanic Serving Institution set in urban Chicago.  I had a completely different experience, an experience at the time I would have labeled ideal.  I went to the University of Michigan (UM), a large, public, residential, research institution in a college town.  I loved Michigan.  I loved my courses, the campus, Ann Arbor, the football games, my friends, and the celebration of diversity.  I started working at NEIU as a short stop along my career path, a place to get some experience so I could move on to a top tier university.  I had no idea that I would stay six years and that my experiences at NEIU would inspire me to return to school to learn how to better serve the actually diverse student population on a campus like NEIU’s. 

UM celebrates and encourages diversity.  The university was even involved in the Supreme Court case that determined how diversity is allowed to be considered in admissions.  However, while I attended cultural events and had friends of various races and religions, I did not fully understand the concepts of privilege and social justice until I worked at NEIU.

NEIU is a Hispanic Serving Institution and the student population is just over forty percent white, with Hispanic students next with over thirty percent, then followed by black students, Asian students, and “other.”  These statistics are NEIU’s most shared and are impressive in terms of ethnic diversity but they also miss some of the other diverse populations, such as grouping Middle Eastern individuals with white students; not distinguishing between Asian, Pacific  Islander, Indian, etc.; and completely missing aspects of the diversity in age, traditional versus nontraditional students, first- and second-generation Americans, first-generation students, religion, and so on.  


It was not until I had this comparison that I realized my privilege of being a white, middle-class American, with two parents who had master’s degrees.  I learned about my privilege when my students would simply tell me, “Megan, that’s such a white person thing to say.”  At first, I didn’t know how to respond.  Soon, I knew exactly how to respond: “Tell me what you mean.”  I went from embarrassment of the subject of race to genuine curiosity.  

I learned even more when traveling with my students to conferences and events.  I took a road trip with a recent alum who is Palestinian.  The first day, he was pulled over by a police officer in Nebraska.  I couldn’t find my registration or proof of insurance.  He panicked when the officer went back to his vehicle.  I shrugged and explained that I just didn’t have it.  The next day we were approached by police in Colorado on a college campus for socializing with a group using trees for slacklining, apparently against the law in that town.  The third day he was pulled over again.  This time in Arizona.  Again, I was unphased.  He couldn’t figure out why I was so calm.  We simultaneously realized it because I was a white female from the midwest with no negative driving record.  Because of my privilege I could stay calm.  No officer was going to hurt, arrest, or harass me.  My friend, on the other hand, could easily be mistaken for Mexican, and in Arizona, that meant he could be asked for his “papers” and questioned, and when the officer found out he was Middle Eastern, that could be worse.  

I soon realized my own arrogance in wanting to be at a tier-one institution, a place with a prestigious name and reputation.  I wanted to be known for being smart, an academic, someone who deserved to be at such a place.  My experience at NEIU taught me that there is so much more to learn about the world than what is visible at prestigious universities.  I wanted to give myself and my abilities to a prestigious universities.  I neglected to think about what the university could give me in return.

I now wish to only be at small universities with a high percentage of first-generation college students.  While I already talked about how NEIU had more dimensions of diversity than that, this one seems to carry many of the other dimensions with it.  Students like those at NEIU taught me so much that they deserve thoughtful, “educated,” professional faculty and staff who want them to succeed in and after their college careers.

I want to be one of those faculty (or staff) members.

I started my doctoral degree in hopes of becoming more informed on how to serve these students.  In particular I want to find ways to increase collaboration in out-of-the-classroom learning for faculty and staff, instead of competitiveness; to find ways to encourage mental health awareness, acceptance, concern, and care, instead of fear and shame; to find ways to increase retention and student success during and after college, preparing students personally and professionally for the worlds they are about to enter.  I want to do all of this in the context of a diverse campus.

Specifically, I may return to my home office of Campus Recreation.  I find that recreation is a healthy and social way to encourage all of these professional goals.  In addition, my Campus Recreation colleagues tend to keep a genuine network of professionals who value their jobs and continue to grow their offices, their field, and themselves.  

I may decide to go into another area of Student Affairs or perhaps the office of the vice president.  I may want to spread both my research and studies as well as the wonderfully contagious, energetic attitude of Campus Recreation.

I may decide I want to become a faculty member.  I love to have direct contact with students.  As I move up in administrative roles, my direct contact may decrease and I may want to become faculty, where I can keep those relationships.

From my actions as a faculty or staff member, my students learn how to be people and professionals after college.  They then go on to further impact their communities, the nation, and the world.  

Golden Eagles, you inspire me.

Now go inspire yourselves.